^, 


Q  '.  ^^%^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


%-A 


1.0    .t«^ 


I.I 


It    i<o 


IM 
1= 

2,0 


1.8 


1.25      1.4 

1.6 

-< 6"     — 

•► 

I- 


PVw 


V 


<^ 


w  ^ 


/} 


01 


e'^A:.     o\ 


fliotographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY    14580 

(716)  873-4503 


^' ^. 


i-p- 


w. 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Biblioeraphic  Notas/Notaa  tachniquet  at  bibliographiquaa 


Tha 
tot 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  avallabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
reproduction,  or  which  may  aignificantly  change 
the  uauel  method  ot  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


0 


D 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covera/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I     I    Covera  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagAe 

Covert  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  reataurAe  et/ou  peiliculAe 


I      I    Cover  title  misting/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I     I   Coloured  mapt/ 


Cartet  gAographiquat  an  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


r~~|   Coloured  plataa  and/or  iiiuttratlont/ 


Planchat  et/ou  illuttrationt  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli4  avac  d'autrea  documentt 

Tight  binding  may  caute  thadowt  or  dittortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  aerrie  peut  cautar  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
dittortion  la  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blenk  leavat  added  during  rettoration  may 
appear  within  tha  text.  Whenever  pottible.  thete 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  te  peut  que  certainaa  paget  blanchaa  ajout6ea 
lore  d'una  rettauration  apparaiaaant  dent  la  texte, 
mait,  lortqua  cela  Atait  pottible,  cet  paget  n'ont 
pat  Ati  fiimAaa. 

Additional  commantt:/ 
Commentairea  aupplAmantairet; 


L'Inttitut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  At6  poatibla  de  aa  procumr.  Lea  dAtaiia 
da  cet  exemplaire  qui  aont  paut-Atre  uniquea  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dent  la  mAthode  normala  de  filmaga 
aont  indiquAt  ci-dattout. 


□   Coloured  paget/ 
Peget  de  couleur 

□   Paget  damaged/ 
Paget  endommagAat 

r~7|   Paget  rettored  and/or  laminated/ 


n 


Paget  rettaur6aa  et/ou  pelliculAet 

Paget  ditcoioured,  ttainad  or  foxei 
Paget  dAcolor6et,  tachatAet  ou  piquAet 

Paget  detached/ 
Paget  ditachAet 

Showthrough/ 
Trantparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quaiiti  inAgale  de  I'imprettion 

Includat  tupplementary  matarif 
Comprend  du  material  tupplAmentaire 


The 
pot 
oft 
film 


Ori| 
beg 
the 
tier 
oth 
firti 
tioi 
ori 


I — I  Paget  ditcoioured,  ttainad  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Paget  detached/ 

I      I  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  variat/ 

I      I  Includat  tupplementary  material/ 


Tht 
tha 
TIN 
whi 

Mai 
diff 
anti 
beg 
righ 
reqi 
mel 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  diaponibia 

Paget  wholly  or  partially  obtcured  by  errata 
tlipt,  tittuet,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
enture  the  batt  poatibla  image/ 
Let  paget  totalament  ou  partlellament 
obtcurciet  par  un  feuillet  d'arrata.  une  pelure. 
etc..  ont  M  filmAet  d  nouveau  da  fagon  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  pottible. 


Thit  item  it  filmed  et  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  ett  filmA  au  taux  da  reduction  indiquA  ci-dattout. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


/ 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmsd  h«r«  har  b««n  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarotity  of: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  Icaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacif ications. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  fiimad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  fiimad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frame  on  aach  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  —^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  Th    following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


1 

2 

3 

L'examplaira  filmi  fut  reproduit  grice  A  la 
gAnArosit*  da: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


Lea  images  suivantas  ont  At*  reproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  I'exemplaira  filmA,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmage. 

Les  exempiaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  filmAs  en  commen^ant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  ie  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exempiaires 
originaux  sont  film6s  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  Ie 
cas:  Ie  symbols  —^-  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  Ie 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  rAduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  ie  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  il  est  tHmA  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  Ie  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammas  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

THE  ALASKAN   BOUNDARY 


BV 

HON.  JOHN  W.  FOSTER 

BX-SBCSBTABV  OF  STATK 


RMfRrNTRD  VBOM  ThB  NATIONAL  OBOORAPHtO  MaOAZIITK,    VOI..    X, 
No.   11,  NOVEMBBR,   1899 


WASHIHGTOM,  D.  C. 

JVOD  &-  UBTWKIJ^ltK,  PRINTK1I3 

1899 


_)^^fJri?*A » p    .  «^Hi«.^l 


.-;-v-'.  i  4'".' 


NAT.  QEOO.  MAG. 


VOL.  X,  1899,  PL.  XI 


MAP  No.  11 

HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  MAP 

'Ordered  by  the  House  of  Commona  to  be  printed,  3lBt  July  and  11th  August,  I80T' 


^ 


TH  t 


iNational  Geographic  Magazine 


Vol,.  X 


NOVKMI'.Ki:,   isit'.t 


No.   II 


THH  ALASKAN  BOUNUAKY 

I'.y  Hon.  .IdiiN  W.   l''i)STi:if. 
Kr-Si'treUir;/  <if  Stale 

111  till'  k'ttfr(»rtlu'  I'rc.-^idi'iit  of  tlio(i('(»<j;ra|)lii('  Society  iiivitinj; 
mo  ly  [tivpiirc  ii  |)!i|>t'r  lorTiiK  N.xiio.nal ( iKcxiu.M'iiic  .M A<iAZi.\i:, 
ho  exi>re.<.'<oil  :i  (lo.>^iro  that  I  .should  ili.Hcus.s  the  Ahvskiin  houiul- 
ai'3',  IxM'auso  it  was  a  suhjcct  tiiat  ino.st  (Io(M)1  y  oonceni.-*  our  people 
ami  tho  papiT  would  l)o  a  timely  coiitriltutio'i  toward  it.s  proper 
consideration.  In  aceeptiuti  tho  invitation,  1  feel  that  I  must 
oontiiio  my  presentation  of  tho  topic  to  th(!  lacts  accessihlo  to  any 
student  of  the  i'vent.s  of  the  period  and  avi)itl  all  referenoM  to 
pondin<f  no>rotiaHons. 

Happily,  however,  the  material  at  hand  for  an  accurate  un- 
derstandintr  of  the  suhject  is  ahundant  and  within  reach  of  the 
iiKpurer.  Its  history  had  its  inception  three-(piartor.s  of  a  cen- 
tury ago;  yet  few  negotiations  among  nations  of  such  a  date 
are  accompanied  hy  .so  great  a  mass  of  concurrent  documents 
and  facts  to  explain  the  motives  and  ohjects  had  in  view  hy  the 
interested  parties,  and  to  make  apparent  the  understanding  of 
these  parties  as  to  tlu;  efFect  of  th(^  negotiations  after  their  con- 
cl'ision.  The  .Vlaskan  houndary  is  (ix(m1  1)\-  the  treaty  of  1825 
hetweeu  Russia  and  (Ireat  Britain, and  every  step  of  tho  anterior 
negotiations  was  carefully  recorded  at  the  time,  and  the  seventy 
or  more  years  folU)wing  the  celehration  of  th«  treaty  are  marked 
hy  repeated  acts  of  tiie  contracting  parties  and  those  claiming 
under  them,  explaining  their  int(;rprctation  of  that  instrument. 

The  treaty  of  IS-J.")  grew  out  of  the  issuance'  hy  the  Kniperor 
of  Uussia  t)f  an  imperial  ukase  in  LS21,  tho  purport  oi  which, 
'j'j 


420 


77//;  .  I  A.  IS  A'.  I  v  norxi).  i  /; ) 


brii'lly  stilted,  was  i  1 )  a  claim  liy  UuHsia  to  cxclusivi'  jiirisdic- 
tioii  on  tl)(!  hij^li  sea  extendiiijx  KM)  miles  from  the  coast  of  Asia 
nl)ove  latitude  I-")"  oO'  luutli  ami  from  (he  northwest  coast  of 
America  above  latitude  .')l°  north  ;  and  (2)  a  prohihition  (o  all 
foreign  vi'ssels  to  land  upon  or  trade  with  the  natives  on  any 
part  of  the  (;oasts  indicated.*  This  »d;ase  l>ron.i;ht  forth  a  prompt 
and  vi^'orous  prott^st  from  hoth  the  I'niti'd  States  and  (ireat 
liritain,  which  was^oon  followed  hy  n«!;fotiations  hetweeii  llns- 
sia  and  the  two  latter  jj[overnments.  It  was  early  made  known 
that  IkUssia  was  prepared  to  withdraw  its  claim  to  exclusive 
jurisdiction  in  the  I'acilic  ocean  and  would  not  insist  upon  its 
territorial  claim  to  the  coast  of  America  liclow  latitude  ao'^.t  Ah 
the  rnited  States  was  advancinj^  no  serious  claim  to  the  terri- 
tory north  of  that  line,  it  found  little  dillieulty  in  rea(!hin<!;  an 
accord,  and  a  treaty  between  Uussia  and  tin;  I'nited  States  was 
sij?ned  April  17.  1^21.  nearly  a  year  hcforc  an  a;j;r(;emcnt  was 
reached  with  (Inat  IW'itain. 

The  chief  oltjcct  had  in  view  l>y  (ireat  Britain  in  its  protest 
and  sul»se(|uent  nej^otiations  was  to  sccurt^  tlu;  withdrawnl  l»y 
Russia  of  her  claim  to  exclusive  jurisdictijii  in  the  Pacific 
ocean.  At  that  period  (Jreat  Britain  was  the  rising'  power  of  the 
world  in  maritime  commerce,  the  United  States  hi'iuij;  its  next 
competitor,  and  it  made  i,'ood  use  of  tin;  latter  to  aid  in  hring- 
in;j;  ahont  this  withdrawal.  At  that  ilay  the  vast  territory  of 
North  .\mcrica  lyinir  l>etween  the  Rocky  mountains  and  the 
I'acitlc  ocean  above  latitude  oo"  was  almost  a  terrd  tiu'vi/nild, 
and,  with  the  immense;  areas  to  the  east  of  the  mountains  still 
unoccupied  except  l)y  a  few  tradin<i:  posts,  the  country  was  lield 
in  little  estimation  by  Cireat  Britain.  A  few  navigators  liad 
iskirted  the  coast  and  enterprising  American  trailers  had  held 
some  intercourse  with  the  Indians  living  imme<liately  on  tide- 
water, but  none  l)ut  the  Russians  liad  i)enetrated  any  distance 
inland.  Only  oiu;  British  trading  i)ost  was  estal)lished  in  this 
region  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  on  the  line  of  55°,  and 
that  120  miles  from  the  ocean,  and  there  was  not  one  above  that 
line.t 

liut  we  are  not  left  to  infer  from  these  historical  facts  what 
was  the  ruling  motive  and  object  of  CJreat  Britain  in  opening 
and  prosecuting  negotiations  witli  Russia,  for  these  are  explicitly 
stated  in  the  instructions  given  l)y  the  Secretary  for  Foreign 

*  Kiir  Sfsil  Arliitnitioii  I'apfr.s,  18u:!,  vol.  iv,  p.  llTn,  for  full  ti-xt  of  Hussiiui  ukase, 
t  Ui.,  p.  .'liio.        I  lb.,  p.  :i»:!. 


t 


rni:  m.axk  \s  iuh'sdauy 


vi 


All'iiirs,  (Icoriit!  Caiminir,  tn  tlu'  Mritisli  nt'noti.'itorH.  At  tin' very 
iiifcptinn  of  till;  Mc^'otiatioiis  litMlirt'ctctl  tlin  utlciition  of  the  lirst 
iu%'()ti:itor.  Sir  ('Iiarlcs  l5aj,'ot,  to  "  the  extravii<.'uiit  aHsuin|ttit»n  of 
inaritinu' jiirisdii'tioii  "  as  the  esst'iitiui  point  to  1)0  adjiiMtcd.  iind 
MS  Hussia  Wiis  prt'pari'd  to  waive  her  pn'tt-nsions,  t)u;  mode  and 
(Ic^'ree  of  di-avowal  was  to  l»e  so  inadi^  as  to  least  olleiid  the 
national  diirnily  of  llussia.*  It  was  thenjfon' dcteniiiiied  that  it 
would  111'  made  more  easy  for  Uiissia  to  retire  iVom  its  maritime 
claim  under  cover  of  a  treaty  of  limits.  This  is  made  clear  in 
the  instruction  <,'iven  hy  tin;  British  Secretary  for  Koreij^n  Allaire, 
Decemher  S.  iS'il,  to  Sir  Stratford  Cannimr.  who  had  succeeded 
Mr  ]{a}j;ot  in  tin;  nejjotiations.     lie  says  :t 

"Tlic  wliolc  iH'trotiiUinn  arrows  out  of  llic  nksifc  of  1S'3I.  So  ciitirt'ly 
and  al).s(iiiitely  tnu-  i.s  tliis  jiropo^'itioii  tiiat  tlic  scttlfiiu-iit  of  the  limitf^of 
tlie  rt'spective  iiossi's.xioiiH  of  (ircut  IJritaiii  and  Hiissia  on  the  northwest 
const  of  Ann  ricii  was  proposod  hy  »is  as  a  mode  of  facilituliiij;  the  atljnst- 
nu'iit  of  till'  iliU'crences  ari-^inj:  from  tlic  uknsc  hy  cnaiiliiiy;  the  court  of 
liussia,  uikUt  cover  of  ti  nmre  compreliensive  ai  iiun.'enient,  to  willi- 
(Iraw,  witli  less  appearam- of  concession,  theofrensive  pretensionsof  thai 
e.li<'t. 

"  It  is  coiijparatively  indill'erent  to  us  whettier  we  ii.isten  or  poj^tpone 
all  ([Mestions  respecting' the  limits  of  territorial  posset'sionon  the  continent 
of  America,  hut  the  pretensions  of  the  Russian  ukase  of  1S21  to  exclusive 
dominion  over  the  Pai'ilic  could  not  c(Uitiuue  lonjicr  unre]peale<l  without 
compelling  us  to  take  some  measure  of  puhlic  and  ellectual  remonstrance 
ajraiust  it. 

"  You  will     .  .     ileclare  without  reserve  that   the  point  to  winch 

alone  the  solicitude  of  the  iJritish  i;<'vernmeut  and  the  jealousy  of  the 
liritisii  mition  altadi  any  importance  is  the  doin<j;  away  (in  a  nuuiner  as 
little  disagreeahle  to  Russia  as  po.«sible)  of  theeflectof  the  ukase  of  1821.'' 

Near  the  close  of  this  instruction,  which  was  <juite  lengthy, 
Secretary  Canning,  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  main 
ohject,  repeats  himself  in  these  words  ; 

"  It  remains  only  in  recapitulation  to  remind  yuu  of  the  origin  and 
principles  of  this  whole  negotiation. 

"  It  is  not  X  on  our  part  essentially  a  negotiation  al)out  limits. 

"  It  is  a  demand  of  the  repeal  of  an  otl'eusive  and  unjustiliable  arroga- 
tion  of  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  an  ocean  of  unmeasured  extent.    .    .    . 

"  We  negotiate  about  territory  to  cover  the  remonstrance  upon  prin- 
ciple." g 

With  this  ohject  in  view  and  under  these  instructions,  the 
negotiations  were  initiated  at  St  I'etershurg.  It  will  not  be 
possible  to  follow  them  in  all  their  details,  which  are  set  forth  in 

*  II).,  4ii."i.        tn).,l4r..         I  The  italics  ui>pciu' ill  till' origiiiiil.        §  lli.,  44s. 


, 


i'rrfuitfd  HI  the  Offiif  nf  thr  If.Sfikl.tf  niut  (if0ilrt4C  Slirii-y    7}^'OMirv  I>vfuut  nn.-ttt . 
MAT    Nn.    1 


THE  M..\sK.\S  lunSltMiV 


420 


tlu!  |»ul»lisln'(l  (•(»rr«'S|M»ii(l('iict'  of  tlic  iJritish  lu'jrotiutors  with 
the  l"»<n'ij,'ii  (ilhcf  ainl  of  the  IJussiiui  lU'^otiators  witli  their 
uiiil)assu(l()r  ill  LuikIoh.  1  can  only  );ivc  tho  hfudiii^  fttaturi'H. 
It  hiiviii^  h(!ca  tlutcniiiiifii  tliat  tho  tmity  of  limits  Hhoiihl  Ite 
a>:ri'<>(l  upon  uh  u  cover  to  tho  inorc  i-sscntial  stipuhitioii  to  he 
'"ontaiiu'd  ill  it.  to  wit,  the  <lisav«>wal  of  tlw  inaritinu!  jurisdic- 
(i"n,  tlic  Dc^'oliators,  in  the  lir.st  instance,  athhvHsed  tiieinselves 
to  II  llxatictn  of  the  east-and-wcHt  line.  or.  more  parlicuhiriy.  to 
til"  point  on  the  nortliwc.«t  coast  of  Aiii«>rica  whivii  should  limit 
tlx!  p(y.sseHsioiis  of  the  two  governments.  Krom  the  first  mo- 
ment tlin  houndary  was  hroaclied  Kiissia  had  indicated  that  it 
would  rest  its  claim  to  territory  on  the  liiu;  of  latitude  ')-')°, 
heiiig  the  limit  lixed  liy  the  i'lmperor  Paul  in  the  charier  of 
17'->'>  to  the  Uussiaii  American  Company,  and  wliich  had  never 
been  ohjeirtcd  to  l»y  (Jr(!iit  Mritain.* 

Sir  Charles  llat'ot,  howevi-r.  in  tlie  lirst  instance,  proposed  "'a 
liiu!  drawn  throiiLfh  Chathiim  strait  to  the  jiead  of  liynn  canal, 
thence  northwest  tt)  the  1  Id'^  of  lonL'itude  "  +  (s«'e  map  No.  \). 
This  liiKMvas  rejecte(l  liy  the  llussiaii  ne;;t»tiators.  and.  at  the  re- 
(piestof  .Mr  Hagot.  they  suhmitted  a  counter-propo.sal.  which  was 
in  elViH^t  the  same  us  that  sui,'u»'"*tt'd  in  the  lirst  instance  ahove 
mentioned,  the  line  of  latitude  ."».')°  ;  hut  "  as  the  parallel  of  00° 
would  divide  I'riiice  ol  Wales  island,''  they  proposed  to  start 
the  lioundary  line  at  the  soulrlKfrn  extremity  of  that  islaiul.aiKl 
thence  "  foll«»w  I'ortland  eh;innel  up  to  tlu'  mountains  which 
horder  the  coast."  +  The  IJussiau  |u*oposal  was  mot  hy  a  Hocoud 
proposition  from  Sir  Charles  Magot,  to  wit,  "a  line  traced  from 
the  west  toward  the  east  alonjr  the  middle  of  tlu'  channel  which 
separat(!S  'Prince  of  \\'ales  and  Duke  of  York  islands  from  all 
the  islands  situated  to  the  north  of  th»!  said  islands  until  it 
touches  the  mainland."*.  This  was  likewisi;  rejected,  and  he 
then  made  a  third  and  final  [)roposal  of"  a  line  drawn  from  the 
so  .ithern  extremity  of  the  strait  called  '  Duke  of  ('larence  .sound  ' 
throULih  the  mi<ldle  of  this  strait  to  the  middle  of  the  strait 
which  separates  Prince  of  Wales  and  Duke  of  York  islands  from 
all  thii  islands  lyiiij,^  north  of  those  islands,  thence  toward  the 
east  throu<fh  the  middle  of  the  same  strait  to  the  mainland."  II 

This  last  British  proposition  wa.s  rejected  hy  the  lUissiaii  ne- 
gotiators in  a  paper  of  some  length,  in  which  they  set  tortli  the 
situation  of  the  parties  in  interest,  and  why  it  was  impo.isili!'  for 
Kussia  to  modify  its  proposal.     Tlun'  show  that  the  parties  who.se 


*  Il>.,  :i!m,  ll-j 


tll...  I-I. 


I  II..,  IJ7.        j  11...  IJs. 


III.,  430. 


430 


THE  . I  A.I.SAM  .V  linrSItMiV 


intorftsta  were  involvccl  wtsre,  on  tlic  Hritish  side,  tlio  Iliulson's 
]iay  C()in[>iiny,  wliicOi  was  pusliiii^^f  its  posts  iu-ross  tln^  Kockv 
in()Unt;iiiis  ti)\v:u-<ls  the  (ioast,  jiiid  tho  Uiissiau  AmcricMii  Coin- 
j)!iuy,  wliicli  was  in  possession  of  tiu;  islands  and  niaiutaininij;  a 
]>rolital»l<'  Iradc  with  tiie  iiativs  on  the  niaiii!an<l,  and  tiiat  un- 
less the  latter  was  protected  l)y  a  strip  of  tin;  coast  on  the  main- 
land, that  ("onipany  wouM  Ix'  without  a  support  [/)(>//(/ '/"'<///*/'/], 
and  would  he  exposed  to  the  competition  of  establishments  on 
the  mainlan.i  which  it  was  their  purposes  to  exclude.'  The 
motive  of  the  Russian  negotiators  in  insistint^  upon  a  strip  of 
the  coast  is  also  shown  in  the  re|)ort  of  .M.  I'oletica,  one  of  the 
Russian  plenipotiMitiaries,  to  the  ministry  for  foi-eiun  a  Hairs  of 
the  earliest  conferences  with  Mr  iiaii;ot,  in  which  he  said  the  Rus- 
sian .\merican  Company  '•  had  mainly  in  view  the  estahlish- 
inent  of  a  harrier  at  which  would  he  stopped,  once  for  all,  to 
the  north  and  to  the  west  of  tin;  coast  allotted  to  our  Amer- 
ican company,  tlie  encroachments  of  the  lOnnlish  a,<j;ents  of 
the  .  .  .  Hudson's  Hay  C'ompany"  (M.  I'oietica  to  Count 
Nesselrode,  November  :>,  1.S2.')). 

On  the  other  hand,  the  main  purpose  of  the  British  plenipo- 
tentiary iii  the  |)articular  nejj;otia,tion  al)ove  referred  to  was  to 
secure  for  British  traders  a  foothold  on  the  Pacilic  ocean  as  far 
above  tiie  latitude  of  54°  4(V  as  possible.  In  reporting;  the  re- 
sult of  his  conferences  to  the  British  foreij^n  ollice,  he  says  : 
"Our  chief  objects  were  to  secure  .  .  .  the  embouchures 
of  such  rivers  as  mi<j;ht  aflord  n  outlet  for  our  fur  trade  into  the 
Pa(Mfic."t  He  further  states  that  his  object  in  ))res(Mitin,i'-  the 
line  of  Clarence  strait  was  to  "  preserve  uninterru|)ted  our  access 
to  the  Pacific  ocean,"  and  he  adds  that  the  line  of  tlie  Portland 
cluinnel  "  would  deprive  ilis  Britannic  Majesty  of  sovereijiuty 
over  all  the  inlets  and  small  l>ays  lying  between  latitude  5()° 
and  54°  45',  .  .  .  of  essential  importance  to  its  [Ilud.son 
Bay's]  commerce."  + 

The  negotiators  were  brought  face  to  face  with  their  eontli(!ting 
claims,  the  one  side  insisting  that  it  must  have  a  strip  of  territory 
on  the  mainland  in  order  to  keep  the  Hudson's  P>ay  Company 
from  the  ocean  opposite  their  islands,  and  the  other  insisting 
that  the  Hudson's  l?ay  Ci)mpa.nv  must  have;  possession  of  such 
part  of  that  territory  and  the  inlets  as  would  allord  it  access  to 
the  ocean.  Mr  I?agot  informed  the  Russian  negotiators  that  he 
had  made  his  "ultimate  proposition,"  and,  being  told  b}'  them 

•*  lb.,  42.S,  430.        t  "i..  '^1.        +  1''-.  t-"'.  ••-"■'• 


I'll  /•;  ALA  SK.  I  .V  lit)  I  XD.  I  A' )' 


431 


*f 


that  the  EinpcnM's  tinal  decision  was  "  that  they  imist  coiitiiiue 
to  insist  npon  the  demarcation  as  descrihed  hy  them,"  he  an- 
n()iinct'(l  tlial  he  slioidd  '•  consich-r  tin;  iic^otiiitions  as  necessa- 
rily snsi>ended,"'  and  tliey  weri'  aecordin<ily  hrolcen  oH".* 

Coinit  Nesseh'ode  sent  to  the  Russian  and)assad<)r  in  i-ondon 
an  .iccount  of  tlic  nc^otiMtions  ;nid  their  aiiruiit  termination,  a 
copy  of  winch  was  lianded  to  Secretary  ('atuun;i;.  In  this  re- 
])ort  lie  insists  tlint  Russia  Iiad  liione  to  tlie  extreme  <d' Iih(M'ality 
in  its  concessions  to  (ireat  Britain.  'I'liese  were,  first,  an  a«j;ree- 
ment  to  disavow  the  maritime  jurisdiction  ;  second,  to  yield  its 
claim  to  territory  from  latitude;  ol°  too|°.t()';  third,  to  <frant 
free  access  to  the  Ih-itish  posts  in  the  interior  hy  the  rivers  which 
ina>' cross  tin;  Russian  stri|)  on  the  mainland;  and,  I'ourth,  to 
open  Sitka  to  Rritish  trade.  The  count,  after  showinjj;  that  hi^ 
country  was  oidy  seekin<>;  to  hold  what  its  enteri>rise  had  gained, 
and,  contrasting  the  spirit  of  tiie  two  nations,  "  we  wish  to  keep 
and  the  English  company  wish  to  ohtain,"' I'eferred  to  the  point 
upon  which  the  negotiations  were  hroken  oil'— the  strip  of  terri- 
tory on  the  mainland — and  impresse<l  upon  the  amhassador  the 
necessity  which  impelled  the  Kmperor  to  insist  upon  it,  and 
then  made  the  following  emphatic  declaration  :  "'  Russia  cannot 
stretch  her  concessions  further.  She  will  make  no  others,  and 
she  is  iiuthorized  to  expect  son)e  concessions  on  the  ]»art  of 
England."  t 

The  expectations  of  Russia  were  not  to  he  disappointed,  for 
in  tlie  nu)nth  following  Secretar}'  Canning  informed  the  Rus- 
sian amhassador  in  London  that  Sir  Charles  Hagot  would  he 
instructed  "  to  admit,  with  certain  ([ualitieations,  the  terms  last 
propo.sed  hy  tlie  Russian  government.''  The  (lualilications  re- 
lated to  the  width  '*of  the  stri|)  of  land  reciuired  hy  Russia  on 
the  continent,"  to  the  houndary  in  tlu'  vicinity  of  Mt  St  Elias, 
and  the  free  use  of  the  rivers,  seas,  straits,  and  waters  which  the 
limits  assigned  to  Russia  would  comi)rehend.l  In  his  instruc- 
tions to  Sir  Charles  Hagot,  Secretary  Canning  said  :  "  There  are 
two  points  which  are  lel"t  to  he  settled  hy  Your  l'];:cellency  :  " 
the  first,  "  the  eastern  houndary  of  the  strip  of  land  to  he  oc- 
cupied hy  Russia,  on  the  coast,"  a,nd.  second,  the  right  of  resort- 
ing to  the  territory  and  waters  conceded  to  Russia.!? 

The  second  negotiations  were  mainly  conlined  to  the  second 
point.  In  the  interval  a  t/eaty  had  heen  signed  hetween  Russia 
and  the  Uniteil  States,  wherehy  the  latter  had  secured  the  right 


*  III.,  ir..         til'..  Kil.        t  Ih.,  \:V2.        i  111.,  4:!:!. 


I 


432 


Til  /•;  ALASKA  X  no  I  Xl>.  lliV 


for  ten  yeiir.s  to  freijuent  "  the  interior  seas,  gul  nhs,  li  irbours,  and 
creeks  upon  the  coast  [north  of  54°  40']  for  tlie  purpose  ol'trad- 
in<i;  with  the  natives  of  the  country."  Haj^ot  was  instructed  to 
ol)tain  a  like  privilej^e  for  (ireat  Britain,  hut  to  secure  a  lonjj;er 
term  tlian  ten  years  if  j)ossihle.  *  ]Ie  thereupon  inach'  a  demand 
for  the  privileji;e,  not  for  a  term  of  ten  years,  hut  Jorcrcr  as  to 
the  coast  ahnig  the  strip  of  land  (//«//tc)  up  to  hititude  ()()°  and 
as  to  Hitka,  and  for  ten  years  as  lo  all  the  other  Kussian  territory 
to  the  north.  iUissia  refused  the  demand  on  the  jrround  that 
such  a  |>erpetual  concession  was  repugnant  to  all  national  feel- 
ing and  was  inconsistent  with  the  verv  idea  of  sovereiiiiitv.  and 
the  negotiations  were  again  broken  oil'.t 

Thereupon  Sir  Charles  IJagot  was  recalled  and  Sir  Stratford 
Canning,  one  of  the  al)lest  Uritisli  diplomatists  of  the  present 
century,  was  transferred  trom  Washington  to  St  Petershurg, 
aiul  the  negotiations  were  again  renewed.  Sir  Stratford  Canning 
was  instructed  to  recede  from  the  demand  ma<le  hy  his  prede- 
ce.ssor,  and  to  accept  the  language  of  the  Russo-.Vmerican  ticaty 
as  to  the  use  of  the  territorial  waters  of  the  strip  of  land  {lixlire). 
This  left  only  the  eastern  houudary  of  this  strip  to  he  definitely 
fixed,  it  was  from  thes(f  instructions  to  Canning  that  I  have 
quoted  the  liberal  language  in  which  occur  the  e.\i)ressions : 
"It  is  not  on  our  nart  essentially  a  negotiation  about  linuts," 
and  "  We  negotiate  about  territory  to  cover  the  n monstrance 
upon  principle."  In  this  connection  it  is  proper  to  note  that  in 
the  early  stag(!  of  the  negotiations,  when  Sir  Charles  liagot  re- 
ported that  Russia  had  indicated  latitude  •'h)°  as  the  line  of  di- 
vision. Secretary  Canning  replied  :  "  It  does  not  appear  .  . 
how  far  the  line  proposed  .  .  .  was  intended  to  run  to  the 
eastward.  If  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  it  obviously  would  Ik; 
wholly  inadmissible  by  us;"'  and  later  in  the  instruction  he 
says : 

"It  woiilil  .     .     be  ('xinMlicnt  (<>  assijrn,  witli  lespcct  to  tlie  iiiaiii- 

liuid  soiuliwanl  of  tliat  point  [tlie  liead  of  byiui  harborj,  a  limit,  say.  of 
50  or  100  inile.s  from  the  coast,  heyoinl  which  tlie  Uiisi^iaii  posts  slioiiM 
not  be  extended  to  tlie  eastward.  We  must  not  on  any  aironnt  admit 
the  Hu.«sian  territory  to  extend  at  any  point  to  the  Kocky  mountains."! 

*  n..,  1:14.       tn'.,i:i'i. 

t  III.,  ll!),  4'.i<i.  Attiiilicil  to  Si'iTcliiry  <'iiiniiiin  s  iii-tnicliuii,  lioni  whicli  iIji'mIm.  ,• 
qiliitiiliiiii  is  taki'ii.  is  :i  litter  In  liiiii  Hoiii  till'  ilfpiity  tciiMMimr  111'  till'  IIuiImiiis  Itiiy 
t'imiliMiiy  ( 111.,  4'Jl  I,  shiiwiiin  tlint  the  siiKKi'stioii  uf  ii  strip  .Mi  tu  Iimi  mill's  in  wiiltli 
oriKili'''tt''l  with  llmt  luliipimy.  He  siiy.><  :  "  l'"nilii  m  \v;i;iI  of  aeeiirule  Ivliouleilne  id'tlii' 
pomses  (if  tlie  rivers  or  ruiines  nf  iiuiiiiitiiiti.s,  it  l«  ilitliiiilt  to  siinKent  any  satistaetnry 
botiiiilary  in  the  interior  of  tlie  eoiiiitry  in  ipiestiun,  aiul  (if  eoimi^'ieiii  with  your 


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VOL.  X,  1899,  PL.  XI 


A     C  HA  R  T 

sliewiTig-part  of  the 

Coast  of  n.w  America 

"with  the  tracks  of  His  Majefty's  Sloop 
^ISCO^^R-rartdArmeflTtmc/cr  CHATHAM 

CommaTiHeaTjy  GEOJIGE  Vat^COUVER  Efq. and  prepared 

under  htj  immediate  inspecHori  ^Lieii?"  Joseph  Baker  itt.%vhich  fh^- 

C  (mtine^aO'CyrwrG  ^J/vee^v correct^  hnacea/  ancl/(/ele\  mmei/'P'om> 

Lat .  6/.  46'N. aticOl^QWfy.  232:oSE.-to  Lai:,  6y.3o y.  and/ Long*.  23^44  E. 

at  ^tej^erfods  ^Aepyrv  6v  the  ^Tncks . 

The  parts  not  skaEed  aip  talceii  from  Spatrrfli  Authorities . 
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433 


*v  ; 


With  tills  instruction  in  his  i)ossessi()n  Sir  Charles  Bagot,  at 
the  outset  of  the  negotiations,  in  resjjonselo  the  Russian  demand 
"  for  a  strip  of  territory  (linifrc)  upon  the  niaiidand  "  which  wouhl 
he  ''  parallel  to  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast,"*  proposed  that  the 
eastern  line  of  this  strip  should  run  "  always  at  a  tlistance  of  10 
marine  leagues  from  the  shore  as  far  as  the  140°  of  longitude."  t 
Russia  suggested  that  the  line  should  "  run  along  the  mountains 
which  follow  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast."  t  When  the  second 
negotiations  were  rcsunuMJ  Secretary  Canning  scut  Mr  Bagot  a 
draft  of  a  treaty  in  whicli  it  was  ])rovidetl  that  this  line  sliould 
"  l)e  carried  along  the  coast  in  a  direction  parallel  to  the  sinuosi- 
ties and  (tl  (111.(1  irlthiii  the  ftedivdnl  baseoi  the  mountains  liy  which 
it  is  hounded."' i(  in  explanation  the  Secretary  said,  if  pressed 
hy  Russia  Mr  Bagot  might  suhstitute  the  sunnnit  o''  the  moun- 
tains if  a  limit  to  the  cast  was  tixed  beyond  which  the  lineshouhl 
not  go.  The  British  draft  proposal  of  "  the  seaward  base  of  the 
mountains  "  was  rejected  hy  Russia,  and  its  countiM'-draft  was 
thiit  the  line  "shall  not  l)c  wider  on  the  continent  than  10  ma- 
rine leagues."  || 

But  Sir  Charles  ISagot's  attention  was  so  occi  ;>ied  with  the 
other  points  of  the  treaty  that  the  matter  of  the  width  of  the 
strip  did  not  receive  serious  consideration  until  the  linal  stage 
of  the  negotiations  was  undertaken  hy  Sir  Stratford  Canning, 
and  as  Great  liritain  had  hy  that  time  receded  from  all  the 
other  contentions,  it  only  remained  for  him  to  adjust  the  eastern 
line  of  the  stri|)  of  the  mainland  which  was  to  he  held  b}'  Russia. 
In  his  '  I  ,  of  treaty  it  was  proposed  that  the  line  should  follow 
the  cre.■^L  of  the  mountains.  [)rovided  thai  if  the  crest  of  the 
mountains  should  he  more  than  ten  marine  leagues  from  the 
ocean  the  line  should  follow  the  sinuosities  ofthe  coast,  so  that 
it  should  at  no  point  be  more  than  ten  leagues  from  the  coast. 
This  was  in  accordance  with  his  instructions.'-  The  Russian 
negotiators  objected  to  the  proviso  and  insisted  that  the  crest 
ofthe  mountains  should  be  the  invarial)le  line,  arguing  that  the 
natural  frontier  was  the  mountains  following  the  coast. 

Much  of  the  dilhculty  in  reaching  an  agreement  on  this  i)oint 
grew  out  of  the  imperfect  geogra})hic  knowledge  of  the  i)eriod. 

vit'ws)  it  iiiiKlit,  i>ci'liaps,  l>e  stittiiMi'iit  at  present  to  settle  u  lioimdary  on  the  eoast 

only  and  tl omiti-y  ."lO  or  Itio  miles  inland,  leaving  the  rest  ol'  the  country  to  the 

north  1)1'  that  point  and  to  the  west  of  the  range  ofthe  mountains,  which  separate  the 
waicis  wliic  li  flow  into  the  I'aeitio  from  those  wliiidi  flow  to  the  east  and  north,  open  to 
th(>  traders  of  lioth  nations." 

*Ih.,4J7.        tn'.,4-'f<.         tI''-:«"'J-         §lb.,4;i5.-.      1  U).,  441.        T  !'>., -l^T. 


434 


TIIK  ALASKA  X  /.7>r.\7>.l  A')' 


In  17!)2-'l)r)  (ieorj^e  Vancouvt'i'.  under  tlio  direction  ol'  the  liriti.sh 
ndniirulty,  niude  the  lirst  iiccuriite  :ind  scientilic.  survey  of  tlio 
northwest  eoast  of  Nortli  Aniericn.  and  his  charts  were  ))uh- 
lished  in  IT^S.  Tiu'se  ehiirts  were  for  more  tlian  a,  ^(Mieration 
th(!  hasis  und  soure((  of  inforniation  of  all  maps  of  tliat  region. 
His  survey  was  eonlined  to  tlie  coast,  as  lie  mach'  no  exi)h>ration 
of  the  interior  of  tlic  mainland  heyond  what  was  visible  from 
his  vessels.  From  tluisc  Ik;  saw  at  all  points  in  the  i-cgion  under 
consideration  a  contiiun)Us  array  of  mountains,  and  upon  his 
charts  there  appears  delineated  a  regular  mountain  chain  fol- 
h)wing  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast  line  around  all  the  inlets 
(see  nnips  Nos.  2  and  M).  We  know  that  the  negotiators  of  the 
treaty  of  1825  had  hefore  them  X'aneou  t's  charts  and  two  other 
maps,  one  issued  l)y  the  (luartermast  'leral's  departnient,  St 

Petersl)urg,  1S()2,*  which  re[»r()duees  w.  ..lountains  as  laid  down 
hy  Vancouver,  the  other  Arrowsmith's  latest  map,  heing  the  one 
published  in  London  in  1S22,  with  adtlilionsof  lS2'.,and  this  map 
omits  all  mountain  featur^es  in  the  region,  bein;;  entirely  l)lank. 
The  pul)lished  correspondence  frecjuentl}'  shows  ihat  as  to  the  in- 
terior of  the  mainland  the  negotiators  were  in  great  ignorance  of 
its  topography,  and  we  have  seen  that  even  the  deputy-governor 
of  the  Hudson's  Hay  Company  was  no  better  informed  (■•<iipra, 
p.  431).  Secretary  Canning  referretl  to  "the  mountains  which  run 
parallel  to  the  coast  and  whic^h  ai)[)ear,  according  to  the  map,  to 
follow  all  its  sinuosities,''  but  he  aslcs  the  British  i)lenipotentiary 
to  explain  to  his  Russian  colleagues  the  ditlieulty  had  with  the 
United  States  arising  out  of  the  maps  of  the  eastern  side  of  the 
continent,  on  which  mountains  were  laid  down  and  which  were 
found  afterwards  to  be  ({uite  diilerently  situated,  and  he  adds  : 
"  Should  the  maps  be  no  more  accurate  as  to  the  western  than 
as  to  the  eastern  mountains,  we  might  be  assigning  to  Russia 
immense  tracts  of  inland  territory  where  we  only  intended  to 
give,  and  they  only  intended  to  ask,  a  strij)  of  seaeoast."  1  The 
British  minister's  fear  was,  as  Ave  have  seen,  lest  an  invariable 
line  of  '•  the  summit  of  the  mountains  "  nught  carry  the  IJus- 
sian  line  even  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  it  was  to  avoid  such 
a  contingenc}'^  that  he  insisted  on  a  specific  limit  to  tlie  Russian 
strip  of  the  mainland.  The  Russian  negotiators  reluctantly 
yielded  to  the  Jiritish  view  and  the  treaty  was  concluded. 
The  corres[)ondence    ind   documents   thus   reviewed  by  me 


4f  I 


m  » 


*  Koiiml  iii  FiirSr-al  !>M|M'rs,  isii:;,  mA.  \',  aiipcmlix  tn  l!iiti>li  ciiso. 
tU).,  vol.  IV,  117. 


THE  .\L.\ sfs. I  v  nniwi). i  /;  )' 


4.^0 


•^li^ 


*  i 


^k 


■clearly  ostiihlish  threo  facts  as  the  result  of  the  negotiations  : 
first,  that  Russia  was  to  hnve  a  continuous  strip  of  territory  on 
the  mainland  around  idl  the  inlets  orarnis  of  the  sea.  Sir  (!harles 
liMjfot  fully  understood  this,  and  hence  his  repeated  ell'orts  to  push 
tiui  southern  houndary  of  liussia  as  far  nortli  as  i)ossil)le,  so  tliat 
the  Hudson's  May  ('onii)any  nuiiht  come  down  to  tidewater  with 
its  trading  posts,  rccotfuiziuf^  that  this  could  not  Ix' (lone  in  front 
of  the  Russian  line,  'i'he  ])urpose  for  which  the  strip  was  cstah- 
lished  would  Ix;  defeated  if  it  was  to  he  hrokeu  in  iiny  part  of  its 
course  by  inlets  or  •  rnis  of  the  sea  extendin«i  into  Ih'itish  icrri- 
tor}'.  Second,  wit),  lie  strip  of  territory  so  estal)li>h(!il,  all  the 
interior  waters  of  the  ocean  ahove  its  southern  limit  liecaine 
Russian,  and  woidd  he  inaccessil)lc  to  British  ships  and  traders 
except  hy  express  license.  It  was  hecause  the  Russian  neu-otia- 
tors  refused  to  make  this  license  perpetual  that  the  neijotiations 
were  a  second  time  hroken  oil',  and  only  renew(Ml  when  (Ireat 
liritain  yiel(l(>d  on  this  point.  Third,  the  strip  of  territory  was 
to  he  10  marine  leagues  wide  in  all  its  extent,  unless  inside  of 
that  limit  a  chain  of  mountains  existed  which  constituted  a  nat- 
ural boundary  or  watershed  between  the  two  countries.  'Phe 
''seaward  base"  proposed  by  CJreat  Britain  was  rejected,  and 
there  is  no  indication  that  isolated  peaks  were  to  constitute  the 
line. 

A  fourth  fact,  not  material  to  explain  the  treaty,  is  apparent 
from  the  record  of  the  nejiotiations,  and  especially  Secretary  Can- 
ning's instructions  of  January  lo,  1824,  already  cited,*  to  wit,  that 
while  the  British  government  souirhtto  restrict  the  limits  of  Rus- 
sian territor}'  as  much  as  possible,  it  was  prepared  in  return  for 
the  revocation  of  the  idcase  of  1S21.  if  Russia  was  persistent,  to 
accept  an  east  line  of  the  strip  distant  from  the  ocean  100  miles, 
and  to  have  the  line  to  the  Arctic  ocean  drawn  along  the  135° 
of  longitude,  thus  giving  to  Russia  a  strip  more  than  three  times 
as  wide  as  she  obtained  and  the  whole  of  the  Yukon  gold  dis- 
tricts. 

We  come  now  to  the  provisions  of  the  treatv,  and  I  confine 
my  examination  to  those  respecting  which  there  are  existing 
differences.  Article  Iff,  in  delineating  the  first  sectioii  of  the 
boundary,  provides  that  "commencing  from  the  southermnost 
point  of  the  island  called  Prince  of  ]V((les  Fsland,  which  lies  in 
the  parallel  of  o4°  40' north  latitude,  .  .  .  the  said  [bound- 
ary] line  shall  ascend  to  the  north  along  the  channel  called 


*Ui.,  41.J-420. 


436 


THE  ALASKAN  BOVNDARY 


PortUind  Channel  as  far  as  the  itoint  of  the  continent  where  it 
strikes  the  56°  of  nortli  hititutle."  The  United  States  liolds 
that  under  tliis  provision  the  hne  starting  from  the  extremit}'' 
of  Prince  of  Wales  ishxnd  shall  enter  the  hroad,  deep,  and  usually 
navigated  opening  of  Portland  canal  or  channel  and  pass  up  to 
its  head,  and  thence  on  the  continent  to  the  50°  of  latitude. 
Tlie  present  contention  of  Great  Jiritain  is  understood  to  be 
that  the  line  from  the  extremity  of  Prince  of  Wales  island 
should  enter  the  tortuous  and  narrow  channel  now  known  on 
the  British  adnnralty  and  American  charts  as  Pearse  canal,  and 
thence  up  Portland  canal  to  the  5G°  of  latitude,  thus  placing 
Wales,  Pearse,  and  a  (ew  small  islands  in  Pritish  territory. 

The  second  j)ortion  of  the  line  in  dis[)ute  is  described  in  the 
treaty  as  follows : 

"  From  thi>i  last-inentioned  [HMiit  [the  5l)°  iil)ove  tlie  head  of  I'ortlaiiv] 
canal]  tlie  line  of  (Icniarcation  shall  follow  the  snniinit  of  the  mountains 
situated  parallel  to  the  coast  as  far  as  tlie  point  of  intersectmn  of  the  Ul'-" 
of  west  lon,i,fitu(le.  .  .  .  Wiienever  the  summit  of  th>'  lu.uintains 
wiiicli  extend  in  a  direction  jiarallel  to  the  coast  .  .  .  shall  prove  to 
be  at  the  distance  of  more  than  U)  marine  leagues  from  the  ocean,  the 
limit  hetween  the  British  possessions  and  the  strip  of  coast  which  is  to 
beloiitf  to  Russia,  as  aliove  mentioned,  shall  he  foriiu'd  by  a  line  parallel 
to  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast,  and  which  shall  neverexceed  tiie  distance 
of  10  marine  leagues  therefrom." 

This  language  of  the  treaty  presupposes  that  there  existed  a 
defined  mountain  chain,  to  repeat  its  terms, '•  situated  parallel 
to  the  coast "  oi- *' which  extend  in  a  direction  parallel  to  the 
coast;"  but  the  surveys  of  the  region  made  since  the  territory 
of  Alaska,  was  ceded  to  the  laiited  States  have  estalilislied  the 
fact  that  there  is  no  such  delined  chain  or  watershed  within  10 
•  marine  leagues  of  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast  exce])t  at  two 
points,  namely.  White  and  C'hilkoot  passes;  hence  the  Unittsd 
States  claims  that  the  boundary  of  the  strip  is  placed  10  marine 
leagues  from  the  coast  at  all  ]n)ints  except  at  White  and  Chil- 
Icoot  ])a.sses,  and  that  the  strip  is  an  uid)roken  lielt  (d'  territory 
on  the  mainland,  following  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast  around 
the  inlets  of  the  sea.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Pritish  claim  is 
that  the  line  from  the  5()°  runs  directly  to  the  coast  and  follows 
the  mountains  nearest  to  the  outer  sliore  line  and  crosses  not 
less  tliaii  ten  or  twelve  arms  of  the  sea  or  inlets,  thus  breaking 
the  strip  of  mainland  into  as  many  different  sections,  and  trans- 
ferring all  the  water  of  the  ))a3's  and  inlets  to  the  IJritish  pos- 
sessions (see  ma[)  No.  I'l.) 


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Tlie  reitiainiii";-  ;irtirlc  to  he  noted  is  llie  seveiitli,  wliicli  pro- 
vides '"that  for  the  space  of  ten  years  .  .  .  the  vessels  of 
the  two  {)o\vers,  or  tliose  beU>iijiiii<j:  to  tlieir  respective  suhjeets, 
shall  iHUtiially  l)e  at  liberty  to  fre(iuent,  without  any  hindrance 
whatever,  all  the  inland  seas,  the  .uulfs,  liavens,  and  creeks  on 
the  coast  mentioned  in  article  o  foi'  the  ])uriK)ses  of  iishinu-  and 
of  tradin<r  with  the  natives."  I  have  already  referred  to.  the 
fact  that  the  ne.ifotiations  were  broken  ofl'  because  the  British 
])leni[)otentiary  insisted  that  the  liberty  to  frequent  tliose  ''in- 
land seas,  uulfs,  havens,  and  creeks"  should  be  made  perpetual, 
and  that  the  negotiations  were  renewed  upon  the  basis  of  the 
jirivilege  granted  in  the  IJusso-Americau  treaty  of  1824,  the  lan- 
guage of  article  IV  of  which,  as  -Secretary  Canning  informed  Sir 
Charles  ]}agot,*  Avas  copied  into  the  Hritish  treaty.  This  ten 
years'  privilege  is  inconsistent  with  any  other  interpretation  of 
the  treaty  than  the  complete  sovereignty  of  Russia  over,  not 
only  a  strip  of  territory  on  the  mainland  which  follows  nround 
the  sinuosities  of  the  sea,  but  also  of  the  watei's  of  all  liavs  or 
inlets  extending  from  the  ocean  into  the  mainland.  This  is 
the  more  manifest  when  the  subseijuent  history  respecting  the 
jtrnvision  of  article  I \'  of  the  American  and  article  VII  of  the 
]>ritish  treaty  is  recalled.  At  the  expiration  of  the  term  often 
years  the  Russian  minister  in  Washington  gave  notice  to  the 
(iovcrnment  of  the  United  States  that  the  privilege  had  expired, 
and  a  uotilieition  to  that  eflect  was  made  in  the  pul)lic  jtress  oi 
tiie  United  Mates.!  Persistent  eflbrts  were  made  by  the  United 
States  to  have  the  privilege  extended  for  another  jieriod  of  ten 
years,  but  it  was  Urinly  refused  liy  Russia. t  The  Hritish  privi- 
lege was  likewi-e  terminated  upon  the  ex])iration  of  the  ten 
years  mentioned,  and  this  article  of  the  treaty  was  never  again 
revived. 

Having  reviewed  the  negotiations  ])receding  th^  treat}'  of 
1.S25  and  examined  the  provisions  of  that  instrui..  '  t  now  in 
dispute,  [  pass  to  a  statement  of  facts  since  the  celebration  of  the 
treaty,  showing  the  views  of  the  high  contracting  parties  and 
those  claiming  under  them  as  to  the  stipulations  of  that  conven- 
tion. As  soon  after  the  treaty  as  the  data  could  be  com})iled,  to 
wit,  in  1S27,  a  miip  was  published  in  St  Petersburg,  "by  order 

*  Hi.,  Cil.  Sccii'tMiy  Ciiiminij.  in  his  iiistniclioii  to  Sir  Stintlonl  Citiiiiing,  iisod  this 
l;iiif.'ii!ijj.' :  ••  I!iissi:i  carmiil  nii'iui  to  ijivu  to  tlic  riiilcil  SlMtcs  of  Aiiu'i'ioa  what  slie 
witliliolds  IVoin  IIS,  iim  In  willilLoM  Iroiu  us  atiytlilriu-  that  she  has  coiisetited  to  ({ivo  to 
the  I'liiti'il  Sliito.s." 

f^i'iinto  V.x.  Uoi'.  No.  1-,  Twfnty-lirth  <'oin.'r«'ss,  thii'il  session,  p.  •_'!.        J  Ih.,  ou. 


440 


TIIK  .  I  LASK.  1  .V  IIOI  XDA II Y 


of  His  Imix'riiil  Majesty,"  on  wliich  tin;  l)()Uiul:irv  lino  of  Uie 
Uussian  possessions  on  the  continent  of  Xoitli  America  was 
drawn  from  tlic^  liead  of  Portland  channel,  at  a  distance  of  ten 
marine  leaitues  from  tidewater,  around  the  head  of  all  the  inlets 
to  the  141°(>f  lon<iitude,  and  thence  following;  that  lonnitncle  to  the 
Arctic  ocean.  Along-  this  line  on  the  map  is  inscribed  the  legend  : 
'''Lliiiilt's  (Ics  Po.'<s('s-sioiis  Russes  ct  .1  uf//a^^7^s',  (V(ij)res  In  Trail!'  dc 
18:2')^^  (see  map  Xn.  4).  So  far  from  this  map  exciting  any 
])rotest  or  criticism  its  delineation  was  ado{)ted  i'.nd  followed  l»y 
the  cartographers  of  His  Jiritannic  Majesty,  of  the  government 
of  Canada,  and  l)y  all  the  nuvp-makers  of  the  world.  John 
Arrowsmitli,  the  most  authoritative  cartographer  of  London, 
whose  map  was  used  hy  the  British  negotiators  of  th"  treaty  of 
1825,  pul)lished  a  map  of  the  northwest  coast  in  lS,'5-_>.  which 
states  that  it  contains  the  latest  information  which  the  docu- 
ments of  the  Hudson's  HayC'ompanv  furnish.  It  will  be  seen 
that  it  exactl}'  follows  the  line  laid  down  by  the  Russian  imperial 
map  of  1827  (see  map  No.  5). 

Arrowsmith's  map  was  preceded,  in  18.';i,  by  a  map  of  the 
iiorthern  [lart  of  Xorth  America,  prepared  by  Josei)h  IJouchette, 
deput\'  surveyor-general  of  the  province  of  Flower  Canada,  and 
"published,  as  the  act  directs,  l)y  James  Wyld,  geographer  to 
the  King,  r.ondon,  May  2d,  18:11."  It  is  "  with  His  Majesty's 
mostgraciousand  s|)e(tial  permission  most  liund)ly  and  gratefully 


dedicated 
IVth,    .     . 
al  ol 


.     .    to  His  Most  Excellent  Majesty  King  William 
com[)iled  from  the  latest  and  most  approved  astro- 


nomu 


)servation.- 


authoriti 


es,  a 


nd 


re(;ent  survevs. 


Ins 


map  traces  the  Uussian  boundary  on  the  contiiunit  in  con- 
formity to  the  Russian  imperial  map  of  1827  (see  map  Xo. 
G).  And  all  later  publications,  either  ollicial  or  unollicial,  of 
Canada  followed  the  same  course,  as  illustrative^  of  which  T  repro- 
duce the  map  wlii  h  bears  the  following  title:  "Map  of  the 
northwest  part  of  Canada.  Indian  territories,  and  Hudson's  Bay. 
Com]iiled  and  drawn  by  Thomas  Devine,  provincial  land  sur- 

n, 
le[)artment,   Toronto, 


veyor  and  draftsman.     By  order  of  the  Hon.  Joseph  Caucho 
connnissioner  of   Crown   lands,   Crown   c 
March,  18o7"  (see  map  No.  7). 

So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  exannnc,  the  map-makers  of  all 
foreign  countries  followed  theboun(hiry  line  drawn  by  liussia  in 
1827.  This  was  notably  the  case  with  the  KriMich  cartographers, 
who  hivve  held  a  high  place  in  the  profession  for  accuracy  and 
authenticity.     From  the  great  numl)er  of  [)ublicatit)ns,  I.  have 


VW  No.  (■) 


VV.***"^^pS^ 


■  ^• 


MAP  No.  7 

CANADIAN    MAI'   UK    \Kh^ 


THE  A  LA  SKA  X  IlOrXI).  MIY 


443 


■  f 


\ 


selected  one  which  appeared  in  1844,  first,  because  it  was  based 
U[)on  the  actual  observations  of  a  voyage  of  ex[)loration  made 
by  a  Frencli  ollicial,  and,  second,  because  it  was  "  ])ublislied  by 
orderof  the  Kinji;,  under  the  auspices  of  .  .  .  the  president  of 
tile  council  of  ministers  and  of  the  minister  of  forei<!;n  affairs." 
It  will  be  seen  that  on  this  map  is  inscribed  the  line  of  the 
"  Traite  enlre  Ui  Russle  el  V Anyleterre  du  28  Fevrier,  1825,''^  as  in- 
dicated on  the  Russian  imi)erial  map  (see  map  No.  8). 

No  map  accompanied  the  treaty  of  1867  between  lUissia  and 
the  United  States  for  the  cession  of  Alaska,  but  immediately 
after  it  was  signed  the  .Secretary  of  State  caused  a  map  to  be 
compiled  and  published  to  indicate  the  territor}'^  acquired  by 
that  convention,  and  it  delineates  the  strip  of  territory  on  the 
mainland  just  as  it  had  been  claimed  by  Russia  forty  years  before 
(see  maj)  No.  9). 

A  multitude  of  maps  might  be  reproduced  to  show  that,  with 
the  exception  of  certain  maps  published  in  British  Columbia 
in  and  after  1884,  all  such  publications,  whether  emanating 
from  1-  ritish  and  Canadian  or  from  disinterested  foreign  sources, 
from  tU;^  time  the  treaty  of  1825  became  known  up  to  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Joint  High  Commission  in  1S98,  were  of  the  same  char- 
acter as  those  already  described  and  re[)roduced  ;  but  I  will 
limit  m^'self  to  one  of  the  most  recent.  This  was  published 
in  the  ScoUish  Geographical  Magazine,  Edinburgh,  the  July 
number,  1808,  to  accompany  an  article  entitled  '"  The  Yukon 
District,  b}-  \Vm.  Ogilvie,  astronomer  and  land  surveyor."  This 
map,  it  will  be  seen,  lays  '.own  the  line  according  to  the  Amer- 
ican claim  (see  map  No.  10).  It  is  not  cited  to  establish 
any  authoritative  fact,  but  sim[)ly  to  show  tliat  even  after  the 
Joint  High  Coin  mission  had  been  agreed  upon  the  best  informed 
liritish  cartogra[)hers  had  not  become  aware  of  any  coniiictiug 
clain\. 

Soon  after  the  expiration  of  the  ten  years'  privilege  enjo3'ed 
by  British  vessels  and  traders  to  visit  "  the  inland  seas,  the 
gulfs,  havens,  and  (U-eeks  "  enclosed  by  the  Russian  strip  on 
the  mainland,  an  important  event  occurred  which  is  decisive  of 
t^'.e  interpretation  of  the  treaty  given  to  it  by  the  two  nations 
who  were  the  contracting  ])arties.  I  have  referred  to  the  two 
competing  trading  companies  in  whose  interest  the  negotiations 
were  carried  on  and  for  whose  benefit,  mainly,  the  treaty  was 
made.  The  Russian  American  Company,  which  was  the  virtual 
government  of  the  territor}"-  of  Russian  America,  is  described 


4i4 


THE  ALASK.W  ItOlSDMlY 


by  Bancroft  in  his  '•  History  of  Alaska  "  as  a  "  powerful  monop- 
oly, Hrnily  estal)lishe(l  in  the  favor  of  the  imperial  government, 
many  nobles  of  liigh  rank  and  several  members  of  the  royal 
family  being  among  its  shareholders."  Tlie  corresi)ondence 
shows  that  the  Russian  negotiators  were  chiefly  concerned  to  so 
frame  the  treaty  as  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  rei)resentatives  of 
this  company,  which  was  in  intimate  conference  with  them  at 
St  Petersburg. 

The  Hudson's  Jiay  Company  is  so  consi)icuous  a  part  of  the 
history  of  British  North  America  that  I  need  hardly  refer  to  its 
part  in  tlie  government  and  (leveloi)ment  of  that  vast  region  of 
our  continent.  At  the  date  of  the  negotiations  it  liad  recently 
absorbed  its  rival,  the  Northwest  Company,  and  it  was  at  the 
height  of  its  power  and  iniluence.  It  was  the  only  representative 
of  British  authority  in  all  the  region  west  and  north  of  the  i)rov- 
ince  of  Ontario  at  that  date  and  for  several  years  after  the  middle 
of  the  i)resent  century.  The  liritish  negotiators  of  the  treaty  of 
1825  were  influenced  almost  entirely  in  their  negotiations  l)y 
the  views  and  interests  of  this  company.  Its  representatives 
were  in  constant  communication  with  Secretary  Canning  ])y 
personal  interviews  and  by  letters  ;  the  boundary  line  which 
they  recommended  was  accepted  and  urged  l)y  tlie  Jiritish  gov- 
ernment; and  when  negotiations  were  broken  oil' they  were  not 
resumed  till  this  company  was  heard  from,  and  its  views  were 
again  adopted  and  i)ressed.*  It  is  safe  to  assert  that  no  one 
understood  so  well  as  the  ofUcials  of  these  two  companies  the 
territorial  rights  of  their  respective  governments  and  subjects 
secured  l)y  the  treaty. 

A  l^ritish  vessel  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Compan}', 
the  /)/7/af^,  reached  the  liussian  post  of  Fort  Wrangell.  destined, 
as  it  was  alleged,  for  the  Jiritish  territory  in  the  interior,  at  the 
headwaters  of  the  Stikine  river.  The  vessel  was  detained  and 
not  allowe(l  to  proceed  on  its  voyage.  The  British  government 
protested  to  the  Russian  government  and  presented  to  it  a  large 
claim  for  damages.  The  Russian  government,  being  hard  pressed 
by  the  British  minister,  urged  the  Russian  American  Company 
to  come  to  some  settlement  witli  the  Hudson's  liay  Comi)an3% 
and  theretipon  the  governor  of  the  latter,  and  one  of  the  direct- 
ors of  the  former  company,  Avith  the  express  authorization  of 
the  two  governments,  met  at  Hamburg  in  18^9.  As  a  result  of 
their  conferences  the  Russian  American  Company  agreed  to  lease 

*Fur  Seal  Ailiitratioii  I'tipcrs,  vol.  iv,  pp.  llHii,  :!.s:l,  3S7,  417,  41',i,  421,  4:!1. 


»   I  /  '^ 


I 


/ 


"'^-■^/y,. 


^"ff„ 


63 


MAP  No.  8 


-3 

3 


0 


'J 


-;       —    » 


•/3 


■3 
■J 

-3 
0) 


O 


Till':  ALASKAN  BOUNDARY 


447 


to  the  TIikIhod's  Hay  C!i)in|)aMy  the. strip  of  territory  on  the  main- 
land and  "  all  the  hays,  inlets,  i^stuarii^s,  rivers,  or  lakes  in  that 
line  ofeoast"  seenred  to  Ilussia  under  the  treaty,  in  considera- 
tion of  tile  abandonment  or  satisfaction  of  the  claim  for  damages 
on  account  of  the  Dryad,  and  also  of  an  annual  jiayment  hy  the 
Hudson's  T^ay  Company.*  This  h'ase  was  approved  by  both  the 
Russian  and  British  governments,  and  in  accordance  with  its 
terms  the  IFudson's  Bay  ('ompany  (entered  upon  and  occupied 
the  strip  of  territory,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  years 
stated  the  lease  was,  with  the  ap|)roval  of  the  two  governments, 
extended  for  another  lik(^  term,  and  afterwards  prolonged  to 
al)out  ISG"). 

The  plenipotentiary  on  1)ehalf  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Hud- 
son's liay  Company  who  negotiated  and  signed  this  lease  was 
Sir  (leorge  Simpson,  governor  of  the  JIudson's  Bay  Companv, 
who  had  assumed  that  ofUce  five  years  before  the  treaty  of  1825. 
He  was  fully  conversant  with  the  negotiations,  and,  as  he  testiP.ed 
before  the  Parliamentary  committee,  was  familiar  witli  the  leased 
strip  of  territor}-,  having  traveled  over  it  in  the  course  of  his 
duties  as  governor.  The  language  of  the  lease  is  sulliciently  ex- 
])licit  as  to  the  particular  territory  and  waters  to  which  it  applied, 
but  we  have  in  addition  an  authoritative  ocular  proof  of  what 
land  and  water  this  lease  embraced. 

In  18o7  a  select  conunittee  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  the 
British  Parliament  was  appointed  "to  consider  the  state  of  those 
British  possessions  in  North  America  which  are  under  the  admin- 
istration of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  over  which  they 
possess  a  license  to  trade."  t    Among  the  members  of  this  com- 

*  Till'  t'dlldwin^r  is  a  (H)iiy  i>l'  ;irtii'li'  I  of  tlio  Iciise  : 

"Ainici.K  1.  It  is  iijfi'iMMl  iliiit  till'  liiissian  Aini'riciin  Company,  liiiviiiK  tlio  simi'tinn  of 
the  Kiissiiin  government  to  that  I'ttci't,  sliall  ooilo  or  loiiso  to  tlio  Huilson's  Hay  Com. 
pnny  for  a  torm  of  ten  years,  commoncinK  from  the  Ist  of  .Jniie,  184(i,  for  commereial 
purposes,  the  eoast  (oxehisive  of  tlie  islands)  ami  the  interior  country  helonging  to 
His  Majesty  tlie  Kmperor  of  Russia,  sitiiateii  Ijetweeii  Cape  Spencer,  forming  the 
noitlnvi'st  lieiiillanil  of  tlie  entrance  of  Cross  souml  ami  latituile  'i\'^  In'  or  thereabouts, 
say  the.  whole  mainlainl  eoast  and  interior  eoiuitry  ludonging  to  Knssia,  together  with 
the  free  navigation  and  trade  of  the  waters  of  that  eoast  and  interior  eountry  situated 
to  the  soiitliward  ami  eastward  of  a  supposed  line  to  he  drawn  from  the  .said  Cape 
Hp^neer  to  Mount  Fairweather,  with  the  sole  and  entire  trade  or  commerce  thereof, 
and  that  the  Russian  American  Company  shall  abandon  all  and  every  station  and  trad- 
ing establishment  they  now  occupy  on  that  coast,  and  in  the  interior  country  already 
described,  and  shall  not  form  any  station  or  trading  establishment  during  the  said 
term  of  ten  years,  nor  send  their  officers,  servants,  vessels,  or  craft  of  any  description 
for  the  [lurposes  of  trade  into  any  of  the  bays,  inlets,  estuaries,  rivers,  or  lakes  in  that 
line  of  coast  and  in  that  interioreounlry."    (Russian  archives,  Department  of  State.) 

t  Repiu't  from  the  Select  Committee  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  etc.  Ordered  by 
the  House  of  (^'ommons  to  be  printed  :)1  July  and  11  August,  18,')7,  p.  2. 


144 


140 


T 


i. 


I 


'  Miip  of  western  piirt  of  tlie  Doi 


MAI'  No.   Ill 

SCOTTISH    (IKOdltAl'llll'AI,    MAciAZIM',    MAT,    ISIIS 

ninioii  of  Cana.ln,  to  u.'.'oini.iiiiy  a  painT  l.y  Win.  (>t;ilvie.     firottish 


Qc<)(jrajihinil  Maijaziiii',  1S',I8  " 


THE  ALASKAS  IIOISDARY 


449 


r 


\^ 


iiiittee  iire  luimd  the  nuiiics  of  l^ord  .lolin  IJusscll.  [-ord  Stnnlcy, 
Mr  lt()ol)iU!k,iin(l  Mr  (IliKlsloiio.  Aiiotlu'r  incinUer  uas  Mr  Ml  I  ice, 
a  niitive(;f  (Jiinadaiuul  a  director  of  the  HiulHoirH  HayCoini)any. 
There  was  also  in  atteiuhince  on  the  sessions  of  the  cotninittee, 
as  a  representative  of  the  jjioverninent  of  Canachi,  Chief  .Justice 
Draper,  of  Canada.  Sir  (i(!()r<je  Sini|)son  was  examined  l)efore 
tliis  committee  and  was  (puistioned  in  detail  respeetinj;  the  lease, 
ami  his  testimony  conlirms  the  fore«i;oin<i;  statement.  To  explain 
and  aeeompiiny  his  testimony,  lie  exhil)ited  to  tiie  committee  a 
niMp  of  the  territory  in  question,  and  said  :  "  There;  is  a  margin 
of  coast,  marked  yellow  on  the  map,  from  h\°  40'  up  to  Cross 
sound  whi(di  we  have  rented  from  the  Russian  American  Com- 
})any  for  a  term  of  years'';*  and  he  proceeded  at  some  lenj^'tii 
to  explain  the  territory  and  the  reasons  for  the  lease. 

No  (juestion  was  raised  hy  any  memlxM'  of  the  committee,  or 
by  the  representative  of  Canada,  as  to  the  validity  of  the  lease 
or  to  the  correctness  of  the  map,  which  was  printed  as  a  part  of 
the  report  sul)mitte(l  to  ParlianuMit.  An  c^xaminiition  ol'  this 
map  will  show  that  the  leased  strip  of  territory  is  continuous, 
and  is  carried  around  all  the  inlets  and  interior  waters,  in  con- 
formity with  the  present  claim  of  the  Cnitcil  States  (see  ma[) 
No.  11).  This  lease  was  followed  by  another  act  on  the  part  of 
the  two  <;()vernments  (u)n(irmin<j;  their  approval  of  the  transac- 
tion. During  the  Crimcnin  war,  at  the  retjuest  of  the  two  com- 
l>anies,  the  territory  embraced  in  the  lease  was,  l)y  order  of  both 
the  British  and  Russian  governments,  exemi)t  from  the  o[)era- 

♦Koport,  olc,  p.  lliiil.     Kxtnii't  IVoni  Siiii|is(in's  ti'stiinnny  : 

"  loji;.  Besides  your  own  territoi-y,  I  think  yen  ailiiiiiiistor  ii  piirtion  of  tlie  teri'itory 
wliieh  belongs  to  Uiissiii,  tincter  some  iii'i':iiigeineiit  with  tlio  Hiissiiiii  Company '.'  'rher« 
is  a  margin  of  const,  miiriieil  yellow  on  tin;  map,  from  'yi°  40'  up  to  Cross  sound  whieli 
wo  have  rented  from  the  Uussiiiii  Amerieun  Company  for  a  term  of  years. 

"  IdL'T.  Is  tliat  (lie  whole  of  that  strip?    The  stri)!  Roes  to  Mount  St.  Klias. 

"  lii:iM.  Where  does  it  lietiin  ?  Near  Kort  Simpson,  in  latilmle  ,)4  ;  it  runs  up  to  IMount 
8t.  Hlias,  wlii<'h  is  farther  north. 

"  loj'.i.  Is  It  tlie  whole  of  that  strip  which  is  ineluded  hetwoen  the  Hritish  territory 
and  the  sea?     We  have  only  rented  the  part  hetween  Fort  .Simpson  and  C'ros.s  sound. 

"liwo.  What  is  the  date  of  that  arrangement?  That  arrangement,  I  think,  was  en- 
tered into  aliout  iHli'.i. 

"loiil.  What  are  the  terms  niion  which  it  was  made?  Do  you  pay  a  rent  for  that 
hind?  The  Hritish  territory  runs  alonir  iidand  from  the  coast  alioiit  .in  miles  ;  the  Hus- 
sian  territory  runs  alontt  the  coast  ;  we  have  the  riiiht  of  navigation  throutjh  the  rivers 
to  hunt  the  interior  countr.v.  A  misunderstanding  existed  upon  that  point  in  the  first 
instance;  we  were  about  to  establish  a  po.st  upon  one  -if  the  rivers,  which  led  to  very 
serious  ditflculties  between  the  Russian  American  Company  and  ourselves.  We  had  a 
long  eorrespondenee,  aiicl  to  guard  against  the  recurrence  of  these  difficulties  it  was 
agreed  that  we  should  lease  thisniiargin  of  coast  and  pay  them  a  rent.  The  rent  was, 
in  the  tirst  instam'e,  in  otters.  I  think  we  gave  ■>,W\t  otters  a  year;  it  is  now  converted 
into  money.     We  give,  1  thiidi,  l,5Uo  a  year." 


•(»  I 


450 


THE  ALASKAX  IIOUXDARY 


tiona  of  the  war.  This  fact  is  shown  by  the  Alaska  archives  and 
by  the  testimony  of  Sir  (Jeorge  Simpson  before  the  Parliament- 
ar}^  committee.* 

About  the  time  of  tlie  cession  of  Alaslca  to  the  United  States 
gold  was  discovered  in  the  Cassiar  region  of  British  C'()luin))ia, 
reached  through  tlie  Stikine  river,  and  the  i)assage   of  miners 
made  it  desiral)le  to  have  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  stri[)  wliere 
it  crosses  that  river  iriore  accurately''  marked,  and  this  led  to  a 
movement,  in   1873-'4,  on  the  part  of  the   Hritisli  and  United 
States  governments,  for  a  joint  survey  of  the  boundary.     In  a 
conference  at  Washington,  Fel)ruary  15,  1873,  between  Secretary 
Fish  and  the  British   minister.  Sir  Edward   Thornton,  it  was 
stated  by  Mr  Fisii  that  a  survey  of  the  entire  boundar}'.  as  esti- 
mated by  the  engineers,  would  cost,  for  the  United  States  alone 
al)out  $  1. ")()(),()( )(),  jind  it  was  suggested  tliat  it  would  V)e  found 
sutlicient  to  lix  tlie  boundary  at  certain  determined  points,  and 
there  were  named  the  head  of  Portland  canal.  "  the  ])oint  where 
the  boundary  line  crosses  the  Rivers  Skoot,  Stakine,  Taku,  Iscl- 
cat,  and  (;hiikaht.  Mount  St.  Elias,"etc.    Thelegislative  assembly 
of  British  Uolumbia,  in  petiiioning  the  Canadian  government 
for  a  survey,  refers  to  it  as  "  the  boundary  of  the  8()-mi](3  belt  of 
American  territory."     Sir  Edward  Tiiornton  communicated  to 
the  Foreign  Ollicethe  resultof  his  conferencewith  Secretar}'  Fish, 
and  it  was  then  sul)mitte(l  through  the  Colonial  Oflice  to  the 
Canadian  government,  by  whom  it  was  referred  to  tiie  surveyor 
general,  Dermis,  who  reported  favorably  u|>on  the  plan.     He 
restated  the  points  to  ))e  determined  and  enumerates  the  rivers 
"  Skoot,  Stakine,  Taku,  Iselcat,  and  Chilkaht,"  and  says  that  in 
his  opinion  "it  is  unnecessary' at  present  (and  it  may  l)e  for 
all  time)  to  incur  the  expense'"  of  any  other  survey  than  that 
named.     It  was  thereupon  determined  that  such  a  joint  survey 
shoubl  be  made,  the  total  cost  of  wdiicii  the  British  boundaiy 
commissioner.  Major  Cameron,  estimated  might  reach  82, 2.")( ).()()( ). 
The  plan  was  not  at  that  time  carried  into  execution  l)ecause  of 

♦Report,  cti',,  p.  140: 

"171)8.  During  tlio  lute  wiir  which  oxisti'il  hetui'i'ii  Uussi,!  .iiid  Kui-'I'IimI.  1  hi^lii'vo 
tliitt  somi'  iirriiii);''iii(>nt  \v;is  inn.ilc  lictwt'i'ii  ymi  mmiI  tlic  Uii-isiniis  hy  whirh  vein  aiiri'i'.l 
nut  to  molest  one  iiiiothor?    Yes;  such  nn  iiiiMUtti'iuctit  was  nuulc. 

"n,".!!.   Hy  the  two  coinpiuiies?    Yos  ;  iiml  trovcninieiit  couliniicd  tlic  niiMUKriucnt. 

"174(1.  You  ugrood  that  on  iieillier  side  i^houM  thiTe  lie  any  uiolestation  or  interfer- 
ence with  the  triule  of  the  ditt'erent  parties  ?    Yes. 

"1741.  And  I  l)elieve  that  that  was  strictly  observed  during  the  whole  war?    Ve". 

"1742.  Mr.  Htdl,  which  governMicnt  cdiitinneij  the  arrimgeiiieiit,  the  Russian  ur  the 
English,  or  hoth?     Hoth  govi'rniTients." 


-ar 


"i  » 


tf  t 


i 


<i» 


»\ » 


THE  A LASKA N  BO  UXDA R  Y 


40 1 


the  failure  of  the  Unittid  States  Congress  to  vote  tlie  appropria- 
tion.* 'I'his  fact  is  cited  to  show  that  in  1S72- o  the  Britisli  and 
Canadian  oflicials  understood  that  tlie  eastern  houndary  of  the 
strip  crossed  the  rivers  named  at  some  i>oint  above  their  mouths, 
which  are  at  the  head  of  inlets,  including  Lynn  canal,  and  that 
the  ])oundary  could  not,  therefore,  cross  any  of  these  inlets. 

In  187G  a  Canadian  ollicial  was  conducting  one  I'eter  ^fartiil, 
charged  with  some  oli'ense.  from  Canadian  territory  across  the 
strip  of  American  territory  traversed  by  the  Stikine  river.  Hav- 
ing camped  for  the  night  at  a  ])oint  \?)  miles  above  the  moutli  of 
the  river,  Martin,  in  an  attempt  to  escape,  committed  an  assault 
on  the  officer,  for  which,  on  his  arrival  at  Victoria,  B.  C.,he  was 
tried  and  condemned  to  im[)risonment.  Martin  conij)lained  to 
tlie  consul  that  he  was  an  American  citizen,  and  the  Secretary 
of  State  presented  the  case  to  the  British  government.  A  sur- 
veyor was  dispatched  by  the  Canadian  government  to  the  Stikine 
river  to  locate  the  exact  spot  of  the  assault,  Avhich  he  reported 
to  be  in  United  States  territory  under  the  treaty  of  1825.  There- 
upon tlie  Canadian  Priv\'  Council,  following  the  indication  of  the 
Jiritish  Foreign  Oflice,  decided  that  as  the  oli'ense  for  which 
Martin  Avas  convicted  w'as  committed  in  American  territory,  he 
must  be  released,  and  he  was  accordingly  set  at  liberty.t 

A  further  indication  of  the  views  of  the  British  government 
respecting  the  boundaiy  line  of  the  strip  is  found  in  the  action 
of  the  two  governments  in  agreeing  upon  a  provisional  line  on 
the  Stikine  riverin  1878.  The  Canadian  and  American  customs 
outposts  on  that  river  came  in  conflict  in  the  vicinit}''  of  a  point 
approximately  80  miles  in  a  straight  line  from  its  mouth,  and 
caused  considerable  friction.  Tlie  Canadian  government  dis- 
patched a  surveyor  on  its  own  account  to  survey  the  river  and 
fix  a  boundaiT  line,  he  having  been  .supplied  with  the  text  of 
articles  '">  and  4  of  the  treaty  of  1825.  He  made  his  report,  and 
claimetl  to  have  found  a  range  of  mountains  filling  the  retpiire- 
ments  of  the  treaty  at  a  point  which  crossed  the  river  about  25 
miles  above  its  mouth,  or  about  20  miles  in  a  straight  line  from 
the  coast.  A  copy  of  this  report  and  accompanying  map  were 
sent  through  the  Mritish  Foreign  Ollice  to  the  minister  at  Wash- 
ington, l)y  whom  it  was  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  with 
a  view  to  securing  his  acceptance  of  this  boundary,  antl  Secretary 

*  l';lll:Mli;lll  Scssioiiltl  I'lipi'rs  Xo.  l_'."i,  vol.   \  i,  pp.  11.  '.'I,  'JS,  Mil. 

t  <'iuiiicliiin  Sessional   Piipcrs  citcil,  pp.  ri7,  .'i'.i,  14:!,  1.").;,  l."p."i.     t'.  S.   I  liplnni.uii'  Corrc- 
spolKli'iicf,  1H77,  pp.  2118,  271. 


452 


THE  ALASKA  X  HOCXDAin' 


Eviirts  consented  to  accept  it  as  a  provisional  line,  without  preju- 
dice to  the  riglits  of  tlie  parties  wlieu  the  permanent  Ijounclar}' 
came  to  l)e  fixed.* 

The  foreifoiug  citations  sliow  tluit  whenever  tlie  liritish  govern- 
ment or  those  holding  interests  under  it  have  had  occasion  to 
express  their  views  as  to  the  strip  of  territory  secured  to  Russia 
under  the  treaty  of  1825  they  have  made  it  plain  that  they  re- 
garded it  as  an  unhroken  strip  on  the  nuiinland  following  around 
the  inlets  of  tlie  sea,  and  that  the  interior  waters  enclosed  in 
such  strip  were  Russian  or  American  tcrritoi'ial  waters. 

When,  in  1822,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  ahout  to  depart 
as  the  British  ])lenipotentiary  to  the  International  Congress  of 
Verona,  he  carried  with  him  an  instruction  from  Secretary  Can- 
ning to  ))ring  the  })rotest  of  his  government  against  the  ukase 
of  1821  to  the  attention  of  the  Russian  plenipotentiaries  at  that 
congress.  After  obtaining  the  opinion  of  the  great  English 
lawyer,  Lord  Stowell,  he  wrote  : 

"  l';iili<riitoiie(l  s^tiUosmcii  ami  jtiri^^ts  liavc  loii^  licld  its  iiisi<j:iii (leant  all 
titU'S  of  territory  that  aro  not  foiincl('(l  on  actual  oirupation,  and  that 
titk'  is,  ill  the  oniiiioii  of  tiie  most  csti'Ciiu'il  writers  on  piililic  law,  to  he 
established  by  practieal  use.''  t 

Tliere  is  no  claim  or  pretense  that  the  Hritish  authorities  or 
subjects  ever  occu])ied  any  of  the  territory  now  in  dispute  ex- 
ce|)t  under  the  lease  cited,  or  ever  <!xercised  or  attemi>ted  to 
exercise  anv  acts  of  sovereigntv  over  the  strin  or  waters  enclosed 
l)y  it.  On  the  other  hand,  let  us  examine  the  acts  of  occupation 
and  sovereignty  exercised  by  Russia  and  the  United  States. 
First,  we  have  seen  that  very  soon  after  the  treat}'  of  1825  the 
Russian  government  published  a  map  claiming  the  strip  of  ter- 
ritory and  all  the  interior  waters  of  the  sea  enclosed  by  it. 
Second,  the  Russian  American  Company  established  forts  and 
trading  posts  within  the  strip.  Third,  by  virtue  of  the  lease 
cited,  which  was  a  recognized  assertion  of  its  sovereignty,  it 
tempoi'arily  transferrtMl  these  forts  and  posts  to  the  Hritish  com- 
pany. Fourth,  at  the  termination  of  the  extended  lea.se  it  re- 
entered and  took  [xissession  and  remained  in  posst^ssion  till  the 
cession  of  Alaska  to  the  United  States.  Fifth,  it  received  the 
allegiance  of  the  native  Indians  inhabiting  the  strip,  and  exer- 
cised control  and  supervision  over  thcMU.  Sixtli,  immediately 
after  the  cession  in  1807  the  Dejiartment  of  State  of  the  Uniteil 

*{'.  S.  Koroinn  Ui^liitioii-!,  Is78,  iip.  ;i;i!),  .'Uii. 
t  Fur  Seiil  I'lipiTs,  etc.,  vol.  4,  ]>.  M«H. 


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States  likewise  euused  a  niiip  to  he  published,  settin,i>-  t'oi'th  the 
bounds  of  Alaska  in  accordanee  with  the  treaty  of  .1825,  and  the 
same  claim  as  to  the  strip  was  thereon  made  as  hy  Russia  in  its 
map  of  1S27.  Seventh,  upon  the  transfer  of  Alaska  a  portion 
of  the  United  States  army  was  dispatclied  to  occup}'  the  terri- 
tory and  a  detachment  was  stationed  for  some  time  on  this  strip 
of  the  mainland.  Eighth,  since  the  cession  post-otlices  and 
post-routes  have  been  established  and  maintained  at  various 
])oints  on  the  strip.  Ninth,  custom-houses  have  likewise  been 
estal)lished  and  duties  collected  therein.  Tenth,  government 
and  mission  schools  have  been  maintained,  and  notaldy  so,  for 
near  twenty  years,  at  the  head  of  I^ynn  canal.  Eleventh,  the 
revenue  vessels  of  the  United  States  have  continuously  since  the 
date  of  the  cession  patrolled  the  interior  waters  surrounded  by 
the  strip  to  enforce  the  revenue  and  other  laws  of  the  United 
States.  Twelfth,  the  naval  and  revenue  vessels  of  the  United 
States  have  for  the  same  period  exercised  acts  of  sovereignty 
over  the  Indian  tribes  inhal)iting  the  strip,  especially  about  the 
head  of  Lynn  canal,  and  the  latter  have  yielded  unquestioned 
allegiance  to  the  United  States.  Thirteentli,  in  the  Census  of 
1880  and  1890  all  the  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  the  strip  were 
included  in  the  population  of  the  United  States  and  so  \)\\h- 
lished  in  the  oflicial  reports.  Fourteenth,  the  territorial  gov- 
ernment of  Alaska  has  exercisi'd  various  and  repeated  acts  of 
sovereignty  over  the  strip  and  interior  waters  enclosed  by  it,  and 
the  writs  of  the  United  States  courts  have  run  throughout  its 
whole  ext(!nt.  I'ifteenth.  under  the  territorial  claim  of  the 
United  States  and  the  [trotection  of  the  government,  citizens  of 
the  United  States  have  entered  and  occupied  the  strip,  built 
citi(^s  and  towns,  and  estai)Iished  industrial  enter[)rises  thereon. 
All  the  foregoing  acts  have  taken  place  without  a  single  pi'otest 
or  complaint  on  the  i)art  of  the  Hritish  or  Canadian  governments, 
except  that  some  IViction  has  occurred  between  the  customs  out- 
jiosts  as  to  the  exact  demarcation  of  the  eastern  line  of  the  stri[i. 
For  the  lii'st  time  a  statement  was  [)resented  by  the  British  gov- 
ernment to  tlie  Covernment  of  the  United  States  on  the  1st  of 
August,  1S!)8,  developing  the  fact  that  a  difl'erence  of  views  ex- 
isted resiiecting  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  bS2o  relating  to 
the  strip  of  territory  and  the  waters  embraced  l)y  it.  Two  months 
previous  an  agreement  had  been  reached  between  the  two  gov- 
ernments for  the  appointment  of  a  joint  commission  for  the  ad- 
justment of  pemling  ([Uestions  of  diil'erence  between  the  United 


cawtitfPjn.^H  mw»n» 


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MAP  or 

SOUTH  EASTERiNJ  ALASKA 


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C  Omnia  nf.y 


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MAP  No.  12 

IIIUND.MIV    i.lM'.f-    Ul     AMllllLAN    AMI    lilimsll    I'l.AlMS 


i,     4'Vy*tM</;»    Vt'/'ti' f //if 'f/ 


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THE  MASK  AX  BOUNDARY 


455 


States  and  Canada.     tSoon  after  the  commission  met  at  Quebec 
on  August  23, 1898,  it  was  made  known  for  the  first  time  that  the 
Britisli  government  would  claim  tliat  the  boundary  line  should 
run  from  the  extremity  of  Prince  of  Wales  island,  along  the 
jiassago  known  on  modern  maps  as  Pearse  canal,  to  the  head 
of  Portland  canal,  thence  directlj'  to  the  coast,  and  follow  the 
nearest  mountains  to  the  coast,  crossing  all  the  inlets  of  the  sea, 
up  to  INIount  St  Elias.    Such  a  line  woi'l  i  give  the  United  States 
a  strip  of  an  average  width  of  less  than  hve  miles,  broken  at  short 
intervals  by  the  arms  of  the  sea,  and  would  transfer  the  greater 
portion  of  all  the  inlets  to  British  territory  (see  map  No.  12).     As 
the  Canadian  government,  with  the  consent  of  the  British  Foreign 
OHice,  has  made  public  the  protocol  orofUcial  journal  of  the  Joint 
High  Commission,  showing  the  result  of  its  deliberations  on  the 
boundary,*  I  violate  no  diplomatic  proi)riety  in  referring  to  these 
facts.     The  })rotocol  shows  that,  after  sessions  of  several  months, 
the  connnissioners  were  unable  to  agree.     In  a  failure  of  concur- 
rence as  to  the  language  of  the  treaty  of  1825,  one  of  the  two  meth- 
ods of  adjustment  was  proposed  b\'  the  British  commissioners. 
The  first  was  a  conventional  boundary,  by  which  Canada  should 
receive,  by  cession  or  perpetual  grant,  Pyramid  harbor,  on  Lynn 
canal,  and  a  strip  of  laud  connecting  it  with  Canadian  territory 
to  the  northwest,  and  the  remaining  l)oun(lary  line  to  be  drawn 
in  the  main  conformable  to  the  contention  of  the  United  States. 
The  American  commissioners,  not  being  prepared  to  accept  this 
])roposition,  the  alternative  was  submitted  by  the  British  com- 
missioners of  an  arl)itrati()n  of  the  whole  territory  in  dispute,  in 
conformity  with  the  terms  of  the  Venezuelan  arbitration,  and  in 
response  to  an  inquiry  from  their  American  colleagues  whether 
the  selection  of  an  umpire  from  the  American  continent  would 
be  considered,  the  British  connnissioners  replied  that  the}'  would 
regard  such  a  selection  as  most  objectionable. 

The  American  commissioners  declined  the  Tiritish  ])lai?  of 
arbitration,  and  stated  that  there  was  no  analogy  between  the 
])resent  controversy  and  the  \'enezuelan  disi)ute;  that  in  the 
latter  case  the  occupation  of  the  territory  in  question  had  from 
the  beginning  been  followed  bv  the  constant  and  rei)eated  \ivo- 
tests  and  objections  of  Vene/Aiela,  and  the  controversy  was  one 
of  long  standing;  but  that  in  the  case  of  the  Alaskan  territory 

♦  Fourtli  session,  8tli  Ptiiliiiment,  62  Viotoriii.  \»m.  Protocol  No.  LXIII  of  the  Joint 
Hinli  Commission,  Wasliington,  ri'spoctinu  the  lioiimliiry  botwocn  Alnslca  and  Ciinail.i. 
Piintod  by  oiilur  of  I'ailiaiiHMil,  Ottawa,  \KV.\. 


456 


THE  ALASKAX  BOrXDARY 


there  liatl  been  u  peaceful  and  undisputed  occupation  and  exer- 
cise of  sovereignty  for  more  tlian  seventy  yenrs,  and  tliat  no 
question  respc;(!ting  this  oceui)a,tion  and  sovereignty  liad  l^eeu 
raised  l)y  the  Britisli  government  until  the  present  commission 
had  l»een  created.  They  challenged  their  Ih'itish  colleagues  to 
cite  a  single  instance  in  history  wliere  a  subject  attended  with 
such  circumstances  liad  been  submitted  to  arl)itration,  and  in 
declining  the  British  proposition  they  proposed  the  plan  of  set. 
tlement  which  had  l)een  framed  l)y  Secretary  Olney  and  Sir 
Julian  Pauncefote  in  1897.  The  treaty  wliich  these  two  distin- 
guished statesmen  framed  so  carefully  n.arked  the  most  ad- 
vanced stage  yet  attained  for  the  peaceful  settlement  of  inter- 
national questions  not  susceptible  of  adjustment  by  dij)lomatic 
negotiation.  In  that  convention,  drafted  with  a  view  to  "  con- 
secrating by  treaty  the  ])rinciple  of  international  arbitration," 
they  provided  that  all  such  questions  should  be  submitted  to 
arbitrators  and  an  umpire,  except  territorial  claims.  They 
recognized  that  territorial  questions  atlected  so  vitally  the  sov- 
ereignty and  honor  of  nations  that  as  to  them  a  different  method 
was  necessary,  and  they  provided  that  these  should  be  sub- 
mitted to  a  triimnal  of  three  judges  of  the  highest  standing  in 
eacb  country,  and  that  a  l)in(ling  decision  could  only  l)e  ren- 
dered by  a  vote  of  five  of  the  six  judges.*  The  American 
commissioners  embodied  this  plan  in  their  i)ro])osition  for  the 
settlement  of  the  Alaskan  boundary  dis})ute,  with  tlie  modifica- 
tion that  a  binding  decision  miglit  be  rendered  by  four  of  the 
six  judges. 

This  proi)osition  was  rejected  by  the  British  commissioners, 
and,  no  other  {)lan  being  brought  forward,  the  Joint  High  Com- 
mission adjourned  with  the  understanding  that  the  boundary 
question  should  be  referred  back  to  the  two  governments  for 
further  diplomatic  negotiations. 

*  r.  S.  Diiiloinatii;  C<)i'vc<p(iniloiico,  ISOO,  iirt,  vi  of  ti'o:ity,  y.  2:1'.). 


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